The clouded leopard is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into southern China. The first clouded leopard known to science was brought to London from China in the early 19th century and described in 1821. It has large dusky-grey blotches and irregular spots and stripes forming a clouded pattern. Its head-and-body length ranges from 68.6 to 108 cm with a 61 to 91 cm long tail. It uses its tail for balancing when moving in trees and is able to climb down vertical tree trunks head first. It rests in trees during the day and hunts by night on the forest floor.
